It Could Have Been Better
by StarmanSymphony
Summary: Kirby is in the final stretch of his adventure, which is the worst time to accidentally rekindle an old rivalry and trigger bad memories for your father figure. (A third part to the Dream Friend oneshots I've been writing, but it isn't necessary to read those before reading this. Rated T to be on the safe side.)


King Dedede was the only one of Kirby's Dream Friends left when they arrived at the newly opened Dream Palace in the midst of space. Kirby waved goodbye to the friend he had made on Planet Earthfall, then flopped onto the ground with a heavy sigh of relief.

"Kirby!" Bandana Dee exclaimed from their position on the other side of the Dream Palace. They ran up to Kirby and asked, "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

"Na, I'm good!" Kirby replied with a weary nub-up.

"I'm really glad we found this Dream Palace, otherwise we'd have to camp out for the night!" King Dedede said, not to anyone in particular.

Bandana Dee looked up at King Dedede, their facing contorting with concern as they said, "That'd be _terrible!_ " They lightened up as they continued, "But you're here now! And it's safe here!"

"So what have you and the other been up to, Bandana?" Dedede asked his Waddle Dee friend.

"Oh! Well…" They turned their body partially to the two Meta Knights, who were glaring at each other, and said, "I've been keeping a good eye on Meta and Dark Meta and making sure they don't try to harm each other, thankfully neither of them have tried anything," they turned around fully and pointed at Adeleine and Ribbon and the semicircle around them comprised of Rick, Kine, Coo and Gooey and continued, "Addie's been painting a whole bunch of things - and people!"

Bandana Dee looked over at Marx, who sat nearby Dark Meta Knight and attempted to distract him with small talk. "Marx has really been hitting it up with Dark Meta! Surprisingly, they haven't destroyed anything yet. I feel like it might have something to do with Kirby." Bandana then turned to Daroach and the Squeak Squad, who were playing a card game, and said, "And the Squeak Squad have been doing fine! They've been telling us about a whole bunch of stories of past heists. I can't help but feel the one about that 'ultimate power artifact' is about something we've seen… But anyway! Daroach has been getting along with Dark Meta pretty well as well! Meta too! And he's gotten even closer with Adeleine! I hear that he told Addie a dad joke the other day…"

Bandana turned back to King Dedede and said, spreading their arms out, "And that's basically it!"

"Cool! Good to know that everything's been running smoothly."

Bandana looked back down at Kirby and asked, "Is he gonna summon another Dream Friend? He usually does as soon as he walks in…"

Dedede knelt down and looked at Kirby. A few seconds passed before his eyes softened and a smile spread on his face.

"Na. Not until he wakes up, anyway."

* * *

"Oooookay! You guys ready?"

Kirby had gathered all of the Dream Friends around the pedestal where the Dream Rod resided. For some reason that not even Kirby knew, he wanted everyone to be there when the next Dream Friend was summoned.

With a few cheers from his closer friends, Kirby grabbed the Dream Rod. Excitement filled Kirby's body as the Dream Rod sparkled. A figure which floated above the ground, concealed by a white glow, appeared before Kirby. Kirby let go of the Dream Rod and dropped back down to the ground, and the white light faded from the figure's body. Kirby let out an excited gasp when he saw who the new Dream Friend was, his eyes sparkling just as much as the Dream Rod had before.

The new Dream Friend simply stared at the wall blankly, then at Kirby, expressing his confusion.

"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGS!"

Magolor whipped his head around to look at Marx, who had just practically screamed with joy. The Halcandran smiled under the belt of his hood, and exclaimed, "Maaaaaaaaarx!"

Magolor swooped over to Marx and embraced him in a hug. Everything was good in those few moments before someone else piped up.

"...Magolor."

Magolor turned his head to the latest speaker, his ears perking up with curiosity. They then drooped down as he frowned.

"Daroach."

Daroach crossed his hands as he said, "Well, I certainly wasn't expecting to see _you_ again. And certainly not like this."

"Well I wasn't expecting to see you _either._ But here we are, I suppose."

Daroach put his hands to his hips and raised an eyebrow as he questioned, "Now just what do you think you're doing here, you backstabbing brat?"

"I could ask you the same thing, you steal for a living," Magolor replied, squinting at the Squeak Squad's leader.

"Uh, Mags," Marx muttered to his friend, who was still holding him.

"Well at least I don't _LIE_ to get what I want!"

"Well it's a good thing I don't do that anymore, huh?!"

"Uh, Mags…"

"Oh really?! Then prove it!"

Magolor threw Marx to the ground, earning a yelp from the latter. "Okay, I will!" He turned his head to Kirby and said, "Hey Kirby! I've been a good, honest friend since after the time I put on the Master Crown, right?"

Kirby shifted on the spot uncomfortably, and all he could let out was a quiet, "Uhh…"

"See? He doesn't believe you!" Daroach told Magolor, gesturing to Kirby with a hand.

"Yes he does! He's just thinking!"

"He wouldn't need to think if he _trusted you_ now, would he?"

"HE TRUSTS ME, OKAY?! YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS!"

" _I'M_ JEALOUS? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S JEALOUS, NEEDING TO COVER UP HIS MOUTH!"

Magolor entered a stunned silence for a few moments. "...W-Well, _I_ don't need a wand to perform magic! I can just do it on my own! Bet you're jealous about THAT!"

"As if!" Daroach replied with a roll of his eyes. "At least _I_ have physical prowess! What's gonna happen when you can't use magic, huh? What's gonna happen?"

"Well the first thing I'll do is blame _YOU_ for stealing it, you no-good thieving _**RAT!**_ "

"I'M A _SQUEAK!_ "

"NOBODY CARES!"

"I DO, AND THE REST OF MY CREW DO!"

"BUT DO THEY _REALLY?!_ WILL IT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE IF I CALL YOU A RAT?! THEY'RE BASICALLY THE SAME THING ANYWAY!"

"THERE'S A VERY DISTINCT DIFFERENCE, IN THAT _I'M NOT FAT AND LAZY! I'M VERY HANDSOME!_ "

"THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT YOU'D SAY, YOU DUMB RAT!"

"HOW WOULD I BE ABLE TO ACQUIRE SO MUCH TREASURE IF I-"

" **SHUT THE HELL UP!** "

The Dream Palace fell uncomfortably silent as everyone turned to look at Dark Meta Knight, wide-eyed. The Mirror copy's eyes were burning with frustration, and it was clear that he was mad even with how much of his face was covered by his mask.

Dark Meta let out a frustrated sigh and told the quarrelling Dream Friends, "Look, the Dream Rod is wack. It brought Marx here, it brought me here, and it brought this new guy here. We've all done questionable things in the past, and apparently the Dream Rod really likes that. Instead of arguing with each other like a bunch of _babies,_ just suck it up and deal with it, okay? I know I've got someone here I'd rather not be around, but you don't see me making a big fuss."

He then turned around and walked away from the scene to sit outside.

There was a long silence before Kirby piped up nervously, "So, uh… anyone else here hungry, or…?"

Ribbon flew over to Kirby and put a small hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Kirby, I'm sure things won't get any worse."

Things got worse.

The next of Kirby's Dream Friends was Taranza, who was welcomed by all, but he still had some problems regarding Sectonia he needed to work out, which was made very clear when he summoned a magical copy of her that used her wand to eradicate enemies.

The next was Susie.

As soon as she was summoned, Meta Knight unsheathed his sword. This earned a glance from Adeleine, Ribbon and Dark Meta Knight, and while the first two looked with concern, Dark Meta's glance was more out of annoyance than anything.

"Heya Kirby! Nice to see you again!" Susie chirped, picking up Kirby.

The pink puffball smiled wide and said, "It's nice to see you again too, Susie! I barely get to see you!"

"Preferably not at all," Meta Knight added.

Both Susie and Kirby looked over at the knight, but with two very different expressions.

"Oh, Meta Knight! How nice it is to see you again." Susie said, placing Kirby down and turning to face him. "I don't know why you avoid me so much."

Meta Knight squinted. "You know _exactly_ why."

Susie frowned with confusion, then her face lit up ass he figured out what he meant. "You're still bitter about that? Really? I don't think that's healthy."

Kirby jogged up to Susie and said, "Susie-"

He was cut off by Meta Knight growling, "Turning me into killer cyborg against my will _wasn't_ healthy, you're right. I still have scars from where the added parts were."

Susie raised an eyebrow as she asked, "Surely the must have healed by now, right?"

" _They have._ Do you not know how scars work? Or did you live too sheltered a life to get one?"

"I wasn't born to fight, you know," Susie replied. "I'm much more suited to paperwork."

Meta Knight scrunched up his face behind the mask. "I never said that you were, nor did I imply that everyone must fight.

Kirby ran between them, teetering on the edge of the platform where the Dream Rod was, and held his arms up. "Guys, plea-"

"I would say I envy your ability, too, but I have much more versatile technology on my side," Susie bragged, placing a hand to her chest.

Meta Knight's frown deepened. "You will NOT bring that technology out around us."

"It's not like you can make me," Susie told him. "After all, you've still got the scars, and I'm sure there's still a remnant of your mechanisation that could very well turn the tides-"

" _ **SUSIE!**_ "

Everyone looked at Kirby wide-eyed. There was both anger and devastation on his face, and the tears in his usually cheerful eyes threatened to spill. It was rare for Kirby to burst out like that - in fact, almost no one in the room was even sure if they had witnessed it themselves - so to see the boy so visibly upset was jarring.

Kirby looked up at Susie, his lower lip wobbling as he considered his next words.

"Susie… please. Dad… He went through a lot while he was at your company, and… it's really stuck with him. It's… not good. And what you said, e-even you being here isn't helping." Kirby took a shaky breath in, shutting his eyes tight and letting his tears run. He looked back up at her and told her, "I'm not rejecting you on this adventure. I just… I just need you to think things over first."

Kirby scanned the room over, then locked eyes with Taranza. The spider was also teary-eyed, most likely due to the intensity of the moment. He was always a sensitive one.

"Taranza, could you take Susie outside for a lil while please?" Kirby asked, his voice softening.

Taranza nodded, wiped an eye, and replied, "Of course."

He hovered over to the platform where all this drama was taking place and glanced up at Susie, giving her a quiet, "Come on." Susie hopped down from the platform and followed Taranza outside of the Dream Palace. Once Kirby was certain that they had left the palace, he hopped down from the platform and padded over to Meta Knight.

He considered putting a reassuring nub on his father figure's shoulder, but decided against it - he seemed rather shaken up, and Kirby didn't want to contribute to that.

Meta Knight's breathing was shaky - it was hard to hear unless you were close by. His hands were clenched into fists, and his knuckles were probably pale, but it was impossible to tell with his gloves on. His eyes were fixated on the ground, holding a faraway look.

"Dad, I know that you'd rather not be around Susie. The Dream Rod is weird, too, and I know you've had a hard time putting up with Dark Meta. But I'll make sure you and Susie don't have to come with me together, and I'll try my best to keep you guys separated as much as possible," Kirby told him in a hushed voice. He gave a faint lopsided smile as he said, "I promise."

Meta Knight looked up at Kirby. He was silent before whispering, "Thank you."


End file.
